The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced two contributions to support people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington state, adding up to $2.2 million.
The foundation is contributing $1 million to WA Food Fund, a statewide relief program to provide food and nutritional support to food banks.
The fund, a project of Philanthropy Northwest, says $11 million will be needed over the course of two weeks to fill gaps in support caused by the outbreak.
WA Food Fund will be one of the beneficiaries of the “All in WA” benefit concert, planned for June 24 with Amazon as presenting sponsor.
Another $1.2 million is being donated in the form of personal protective equipment for health care workers in Washington.
In partnership with state officials and Amazon, the Paul G. Allen Foundation and Vulcan Inc. acquired and delivered 2.3 million pairs of surgical gloves, 75,000 surgical gowns and 3,000 infrared thermometers. Amazon helped transport the items from China in late April and early May.
“I am grateful to the WA state response team and for Amazon’s assistance in making this happen,” Vulcan CEO Bill Hilf said today in a news release. “Global shipping costs and freight logistics alone can be prohibitive, especially when hospitals need equipment to focus on meeting the needs of their patients while protecting their health care professionals.”
Hilf said “Amazon was a terrific partner during an important time and enabled us to respond swiftly and thoughtfully to PPE needs the state identified as critical.”
Since April, Vulcan and the foundation have also supported the Seattle Foundation’s COVID-19 Response Fund, ArtsFund’s COVID-19 Arts Emergency Relief Fund, the Chinatown-International District Preservation and Development Authority and Friends of Little Saigon Small Business and Restaurant Recovery Fund, the South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce, and UW Medicine’s effort to provide testing to the city’s unsheltered population.
